2014-08-21

For the last couple of
months I have been engaged in research concerning the history of two river
systems in Sweden: Göta Älv and Ätran. I have tried to explore questions of
river/human interaction and several interesting themes have emerged. In my
research I have focused on six case studies, and this blog post concerns one of
them: Åkerström.

A map of Göta Älv with some important places marked.

For anyone interested in the
history of Göta Älv – the largest river in Sweden which enters the ocean at the
area surrounding Gothenburg – Åkerström is a place of significance for several
reasons. The river has been used for transport for many centuries and Åkerström
is intimately tied to the transport economy of Göta Älv on many levels.
Furthermore, the Göta Älv valley has long been plagued by natural disasters
which historical effects can be clearly seen in this area. The river should not
be seen as something passive in this region, as its nature and effect upon the
surrounding landscape clearly has affected the human society of the area.

The pre-medieval history of Åkerström remains
largely unknown and unexplored. The only nearby remains of Iron Age activity is
an ancient hill fort on a mountain overlooking the river channel just to the
northwest of the 17th century farm Slätthult. Almost no burial
features can be found here, apart from a few stone settings and stone circles
to the north of Åkerström. Thus it seems like the local
area was pretty much uninhabited during the Iron Age.

During the Middle Ages, the main area of
settlement lay to the north of Åkerström, between present day Trollhättan and
Vänersborg. This area was highly suitable for farming with soils consisting
mainly of clay and silt. The vicinity to Vänern and the extensive forests
surrounding this settlement area also provided the foundation for a diverse
amount of secondary resource production. Cattle farming was the most important
agrarian resource of this area and cattle – along with its byproducts – was
highly valuable trade goods.

It is difficult to say with any certainty to
what extent this region of Göta Älv was used for transport during the medieval
period. Considering the picture that emerges during later centuries it is
highly likely that the whole river has been used at least sporadically for
transportation during the Middle Ages. However, the falls at Lilla Edet and
Trollhättan were difficult obstacles for upstream transportation, and it is
perhaps more likely that Göta Älv was used for downstream transports during
this period – such as timber rafting. The difficulties of these water falls are
well emphasised the later development, where a road called “Edsvägen” connected
the river north of Trollhättan to Åkerström. Goods where traditionally unloaded
at Trollhättan and transported by land to Åkerström. From Åkerström the goods
could be shipped to Lilla Edet where it had to be transshipped again – at least
before the middle of the 17th century when a river lock was constructed
there by King Karl the IX of Sweden.

Åkerström should therefore be seen as a
rather liminal area up till at least the 16th century, when it first
appears in the written records. When we take a look at a map of the area from
1653, the location is obviously entangled in the river economy of Göta Älv. The
map mainly surveys the farms of Slätthult and Stubbered, but also shows the
location of Åkerström – where some “iron huts” where located – as well as the
border stream between Denmark and Sweden. In 1648 a landslide occurred in this
area, which had disastrous effects on the settlements downstream. Several ships
and houses were destroyed, and the earth masses blocked the entire river
valley. When the water eventually broke through the dam of soil a huge “tidal
wave” swept down the valley, causing severe additional damages. The location of
this landslide (called “Stora Jordafallet”) is also marked on the map.

The farms of Slätthult and Stubbered were by
no means disentangled from Göta Älv, and had access to fishing waters in the
river. In addition, Slätthult made “good revenues” from barges going down Göta
Älv towards Gothenburg. We can only guess at the nature of these barges, but
the farm obviously produced timber which would have been easily transported
down the river. Timber rafting on Göta Älv was common during the 17th
century, but most timber came from more distant places, such as Värmland and
Dalsland. Here is then an example of a local entrepreneur who was engaged in
the larger economic structures of Early Modern Sweden, and who used them for
his/her own gains. We cannot know the historical depth of this phenomenon.
According to some authors, timber rafting occurred on Göta Älv already during
the Middle Ages. Even though this is indeed possible, scarce evidence exists.

Perhaps even more interesting are the two
abandoned sawmills which lay on the lands of Slätthult. It is highly likely
that the timber industry of the area suffered from the landslide in 1648, which
would explain the abandoned saw mills. No real trace of these sawmills can be
seen today, as they seem buried beneath large amounts of rocks which have fallen from the slopes to the south-east.

That was a short account of the area of
Åkerström during the Early Modern period. The place is highly interesting, and
an investigation like this raises additional questions:

·The water falls
at Trollhättan were used for milling during the 15th century, which
indicates that the vicinity was settled. Is it possible that the trading
station of Åkerström was active already during the Middle Ages?

·Was local
private engagement in long-distance trade something common during the Early
Modern period?

·Was the area
surrounding Åkerström politically important in some way due to its economic
function?

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About me

My name is Oscar Jacobsson and I am a graduate student at the department of Archaeology and Ancient History at Lund University in Sweden.
This blog is dedicated to the discussion of medieval landscapes in many different ways, though my main interest lies in the relationship between natural and human landscapes. Therefore most of the published material will concern this subject.
Feel free to contact me on:
oscarjacobsson@live.com